Henrik Pontoppidan, Director of S2U Design, reflects on the past year of letters from Vietnam.
It’s that time of year again. Christmas is quietly knocking on the door – and here in Vietnam, that means TET is knocking even louder. The country’s own version of Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and with it comes the annual reality: Vietnam will soon down tools, close laptops, and head home for the holidays.
Officially, TET runs from 14 to 22 February. In practice, anyone working with Vietnam knows the ripple effects stretch far beyond the dates on paper. For about a month, lead times wobble, schedules slip, and the normally electric Ho Chi Minh City becomes beautifully decorated…and unusually quiet. No traffic. No chaos. Just an entire nation going home to honour family and tradition.
And as the year draws to a close, it feels natural to look back – not only at a world wrestling with war, elections, and uncertainty – but at how surprisingly resilient our furniture industry has been despite the noise. Fuel costs are steady, shipping rates have (thankfully) returned to sanity, the weakened USD is giving importers a little breathing room, and although the global economy isn’t exactly sprinting, it’s hardly collapsing either. In short: there’s still plenty of opportunity out there for those who know where to look.
Since I began writing Letter from Vietnam for Big Furniture Magazine, I’ve had one overarching idea in mind: that each monthly piece should stand alone as a good read – yet together, they should form a practical, honest, no-nonsense guide to making your sourcing journey in Vietnam truly successful over the long run. A kind of compass, built from the real experiences we all share when working here.
So, as a way of wrapping up 2025, I’ve gathered the previous 2025 Letters below – each one touching on a different aspect of doing business in Vietnam, and all of them written with the same purpose: helping international buyers navigate this wonderful, sometimes puzzling, always rewarding manufacturing landscape. If you would like to read any of these letters in full, you can follow the link at the end of this article.
Letter from Vietnam – January 2025
A reminder of the power of road trips. Every well-organised factory tour in Vietnam reveals hidden gems, new partners, unexpected solutions. If you’re flying across the world and investing time and travel budget, the trip needs to be tight, structured, and worth it. This is one of the areas where S2U Design can transform a week in Vietnam into months of progress.
February 2025
A deep dive into the dos and don’ts of sampling – both the “soft” disciplines (culture, communication, expectations) and the “hard” disciplines (technical drawings, documentation, production logic). Essential reading if you want your samples to come back right the first time.
March 2025
A guide to best practice when you want to be taken seriously and receive fast, clear responses from Vietnamese factory partners. If you’ve ever stared at your inbox wondering why nothing is moving, this one’s for you.
April 2025
An explanation of why Vietnam isn’t an “off-the-shelf” country. It’s an OEM powerhouse -meaning products are designed and developed uniquely for each customer. Understanding this fundamental truth changes everything about how you engage with factories.
May 2025
A look at the revival of traditional UK-style wooden cabinet furniture, judging by the rise in enquiries. With decades of experience serving the UK market, Vietnamese manufacturers are exceptionally well positioned to deliver for this segment.
June 2025
Cultural differences matter – and they can make or break your project. This article explores common misunderstandings and equips readers to “read between the lines,” gaining a clearer view of what’s really going on and how to address issues constructively.
July 2025
When things stall or feel stuck behind “factory resistance,” frustrations rise quickly. This piece unpacks the real, often surprising reasons behind slowdowns – explained from a Vietnamese factory perspective. Many readers told me this article completely changed how they approach problem-solving with their partners here.
August 2025
A real-life story about how a true commercial winner—strong design, smart construction, competitive cost, and production-friendly – came to life right here in Vietnam.
September 2025
A look into how imagery, CGI, renders, room sets, and the entire online marketing toolbox can be outsourced to Vietnam along with production – at excellent quality and at a fraction of Western costs.
October 2025
A case study showing how we helped a client slash costs related to constant travel, endless factory visits, misunderstandings, and internal resource drain – simply by dropping conventional HQ policies and instead aligning with Vietnam’s actual, practical way of processing and shipping orders
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If you would like to explore all or any of these articles, you will find them following this link:
https://www.s2udesign.com/letters-from-vietnam-published-in-big-furniture-magazine/
For any challenge you might come across in Vietnam, feel free to reach out.
Henrik@s2udesign.com
